ASI Solutions Runways and Taxiway Preservation

ASI Solutions develops and provides innovative and sustainable solutions for the construction and preservation of asphalt and other bituminous bound surfaces.

The company’s RHiNOPHALT® solution is a unique preventative maintenance treatment that protects asphalt from weather conditions, oxidation and traffic wear. It addresses the major challenge of how to preserve and extend the life of expensive asphalt infrastructure, such as airport runways and taxiways, road network, automotive tracks and car parks.

The solution has proven to be a very reliable, effective and innovative method of preserving asphalt infrastructure worldwide, offering substantial operational, environmental benefits and long-term cost savings to all parties involved.

Preventative maintenance treatment for airport runways and taxiways

ASI Solutions’ RHiNOPHALT® penetrates the existing surface and seals in essential oils and resins while improving its binding and waterproofing properties. As a result, the treated surface will become more resistant to abrasion, stone loss, water ingress, and the severe ageing effects of adverse temperatures.

RHiNOPHALT® is best used as a planned preventative maintenance tool in asset management, as it extends the operational life of asphalt and reduces the cost of resurfacing and repairs. However, it is also used extensively to extend the life of older pavements and allow for planned replacement funding to be arranged, or to arrest aggregate loss.

As the bitumen ages, asphalt loses its flexibility and becomes more brittle, leading to an increased ravelling prospects and pot hole formation. This surface aggregate loss is a major safety concern to all airport operators as it poses a potential foreign object debris (FOD) hazard.

RHiNOPHALT® can be noiselessly applied day or night to significantly reduce any issues with lane availability or traffic disruption, and generally cure within 30 minutes to two hours, depending on climatic conditions.

Areas ranging from 10,000m² to 30,000m² can be covered by tankers in a single shift. The largest airfield contract the company has handled so far is the preservation of 270,000m² of asphalt at Keflavík International Airport from 7 to 11 July 2009.

The whole process of preservation, grip recovery and re-lining can be carried out in shifts over as little as five hours, offering improved productivity when compared with conventional surfacing treatments.

Key benefits of treating airport runways and taxiways

RHiNOPHALT® improves waterproofing and protection against weathering and extends the life of the existing surface, delaying the cost of major refurbishments.

The treatment does not change the surface characteristics. The grip will be restored and texture maintained. The strengthened surface aggregate matrix on treated runways also reduces the risk of FOD.

About ASI Solutions

Formed in the UK in 1997, ASI Solutions has expanded to become an international solution provider for the asphalt infrastructure market.

In recent years, the company has developed a strong network of sales employees, distributors and partners that span a substantial part of the industrial world. ASI’s sales focus is primarily on countries with a strategic commitment to the investment and maintenance of extensive road and air transport infrastructure.

Airport infrastructure works are a core part of the company’s business and its experienced teams provide the necessary engineering skills and technologies to deliver sustainable asset management solutions.

ASI has so far successfully completed projects across almost two million square metres of the world’s major civil and military airfields, including Heathrow, Birmingham, Manchester, Brize Norton, Lisbon, Keflavik, Phnom Penh, Rota and Airbus.

Surface grip (friction) is a major safety characteristic of an asphalt surface course. Once the bitumen film has been removed from the aggregate by vehicle trafficking, the micro-texture (roughness) of the aggregate is exposed which provides grip with tyre contact.